PD PORTS TEESPORT VISIT BY UK MINISTER FOR TRANSPORT, MP MIKE PENNING

News Release PD Ports, Harbour Office Tees Dock (Port Operations Centre) February 11, 2011

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LONDON, 10 February 2011 – Shipping
Minister, MP Mike Penning, Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Transport,
visited Teesport operator PD Ports yesterday, as part of a region-wide visit of
the North East. Mr Penning, who is responsible for shipping, freight and
logistics, was pleased to have the opportunity to tour Teesport, as the visit
emphasises his message of the importance of portcentric and coastal shipping,
which are seen as vital components in building and maintaining a strong UK
economy.
The Minister visited PD Ports’
latest expansion project, undertaken by Hall Construction Services Ltd, which
commenced at the beginning of this month. The new development will expand the
port’s container handling capacity by almost 50%, helping to position Teesport
as one of the UK’s major container hubs and building on a record growth in
container volumes in 2010. The visit also included a tour of MGT Power’s
planned £400m Tees
Renewable Energy Plant, on approved dockside land owned by PD
Ports. The 300MW biomass power station will be one
of the world's largest, generating enough electricity to power 600,000
homes. David Robinson, PD Ports Group chief executive
officer, said: “It has been a real honour to welcome the Minister to Teesside
today. We have successfully demonstrated PD Ports’ developing capabilities as
the business sees continued growth of the unitised and portcentric logistics
sectors and an opening up of exciting emerging energy opportunities.
“Visits of this kind help our
organisation work closely with Government, particularly the Minister and his
colleagues in the Department for Transport, to keep the port, as one of our
region’s key assets and areas of investment potential, foremost in their
minds.” The tour concluded with the Minister visiting the ASDA
distribution centre at Teesport, a large cornerstone development located on the
PD Ports site. ASDA, which opened the first
portcentric import centre at Teesport in 2006, has now considerably reduced the
volume of company trucks on the already over-burdened UK road network, leading
to a saving of over 1.2m road miles.   Shipping
Minister Mike Penning said: "With the
vast majority of goods arriving in the UK by sea, ports are a vital piece of our
national infrastructure jigsaw. I was delighted to see the great work being done
at Teesport - in particular the supermarket distribution centre which not only
promotes coastal shipping but it also removes thousands of trucks from the
nation’s roads. I also applaud their commitment to tackling climate change -
really raising the bar for renewable energy production."
Mr Penning’s tour
of Teesport follows a number of MP visits to PD Ports in the last month, with
Tom Blenkinsop, Alex Cunningham, Ian Swales and James Wharton all having offered
to back proposed development plans, in particular in helping to raise the
profile of Hartlepool in the offshore wind energy sector. PD Ports has also
taken its plans to the House of Commons where port representatives recently
attended the All Party Ports and Maritime Group conference. Engaging
with the Government and its MPs is a vital component in highlighting the
potential opportunities for PD Ports in this emerging sector, as well as the
potential economic benefits for the North East
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